"Amazing as it is, there's a whole Harvest Moon game here"

Harvest Moon has spawned more sequels than ANYONE could have possibly imagined. A farming RPG where your lead character dates (usually women), raises animals, and even befriends gnomes. Not much has ever changed with the series, and some skeptics have pointed out that Natsume has more or less just repackaged and resold the concepts, characters, and events over and over again across many platforms.

Well, there's a twist this time around (albeit not one that really alters the gameplay mechanics in the least): you're a female and you've got the hots for men. Before all you guy gamers run out of your dorm / computer room / basement, hear me out. The game mechanics and everything are IDENTICAL to the previous GBA offering. If you don't mind putting the moves on some virtual men, then you're in for a very deep and satisfying game with almost infinite replay value. Beyond that, Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town finally offers girl gamers the ability to express their inner farmer.

Graphics

It's the same Friends of Mineral Town format right down to the last pixel. It's very SNES-y but the colors aren't nearly as vibrant as they should be. Animation is average at best, and the vegetables only marginally look like their counterparts. Graphical mediocrity aside, the game does a good job of placing you in Mineral Town and letting you get a feel for the varied locations it has to offer (and there aren't many).

The game is no "Golden Sun", that's for sure, but it gets the job done and frankly anyone concerned with graphics shouldn't be playing Harvest Moon (or a GBA).

Sound

Harvest Moon never had the best music in the world, and this game is no exception. Low-quality MIDI music greets you from start to finish, and the composition of the music isn't that much better. The summer theme is especially grating as you'd rather choke on a Pineapple than listen to the Pina-Colada Rumba one more time.

Interestingly, the game DOES have authentic farm sounds. The cows go "moo", the sheep go "baa"... if you've read a toddler's book you get the point. The overall soundtrack isn't terrible but you most certainly won't ENJOY remembering it.

Gameplay

So far I've blasted Harvest Moon in every conceivable way, but now it's time to give it props. More Friends of Mineral Town is an insanely deep and enjoyable "Farm RPG" that expands upon the core elements of Harvest Moon and makes the series accessible to females who may have felt odd about marrying other females in the previous Harvest Moons.

The game follows a progression of seasons (each as long as a Month in days) in which you can plant and harvest vegetables as well as maintain animals. In the course of this, you can associate with the citizens of Mineral Town as well as find a hunk-a-hunk-a burnin' love to marry. The dating system is pretty half-baked, as always, primarily forcing you to give your lover some item he likes day-in-and-day-out for a year.

Random events and planned events also occasionally break the daily grind, but the money made from harvesting some veggies will often keep you on the farm longer than you'd like.

It's a game that follows a routine: Wake up, water plants, harvest plants, feed animals, brush horse, chat with neighbors, flirt with boys... that sort of thing, and you'll do it every day (except Sunday, because even naughty girls need to go to church)

Overall

If you're a girl who felt left out of the loop or a guy who doesn't mind flirting with anime guys, this game is for you. It's a fantastically long game and has no real ending, so you can keep building your giant corporate farm until the end of time.

9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/15/05